With conflicting reports over the iPhone 5 release date in full effect, we get some interesting news from the Guardian which writes that Apple’s next-gen iPhone is already en route to carriers for testing, albeit in sealed boxes, and that we can look forward to seeing the device hit stores this coming September.

“My carrier sources tell me,” Charles Arthur writes, “that the boxes in which the new iPhone hardware is encased have been transported to carriers for testing. This is an important step in the release cycle for any phone.”

“The next iPhones go for their testing inside locked and sealed boxes so that the carriers can carry out checks on their network compatibility in their labs,” Charles continues. “It’s very high security, as you could guess; my understanding is that barely anyone inside the carriers gets to open those boxes, and even when they do the hardware is encased in a dummy body which means there’s no clue to what the actual phone will do.”